Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Most likely, your child will not leave the home looking like this. But if you find two or more of these implements among his or her things, your child is probably writing graffiti in your neighborhood.

The tagger poster has been made available by the City of Santa Ana, in Orange County, California.There is also a PDF version so you can print and distribute it to concerned citizens.

ONE of today's most buzzed about skurban clothing lines happens to be inspired by a 50something-year-old homeless guy who dances up a disco storm on roller skates along Robertson Blvd. in Beverly Hills. No joke. We should also mention he's proverbially decked out in eye-popping, Jazzercise-worthy, sheer spandex ensembles. His name is Mr. John Jermien, but according to three 23-year-old dudes who adorn his image on their label, he's "The Crazy Robertson."

"We grew up around here, watching him dance. We just wanted to getto know him. Everyone had their own story about him. He was a lawyer. He was a baseball player. He went crazy. We didn't know any better; he was the dancing guy," Kevin Hayes explains from the two-story apartment he shares with his partners only a few blocks from the Robertson fashion corridor. "At first we had no intention of making a clothing line. We really wanted to be his friend."

The clothing line-at this point consisting of T-shirts, hoodies, wallets and limited-edition signed print designs-was established last year. And it really is the result of Hayes, Vic Ackerman and Teddy Hirsch befriending Jermien. "It took a long time where we had to cozy up to him. You just can't talk to him like we're doing now," Hirsch explains.

A recent foray onto Robertson and BPM got this quote from Jermien, in reference to the clothing line. "It's art. It's society. We have a message to put out there. My dancing is about freedom," Jermine huffed before shooing away this reporter so he could prepare another dance routine.

To most people, this kitschy fashion experiment involving a homeless man believed to have a minor level of schizophrenia is more innocent than rude. But then again, the label has not been without its fair share of controversy. Early on, the Wall Street Journal ran a story that questioned whether this was a case of creative entrepreneurship or straight up exploitation. The fellas were portrayed as neophyte capitalists who were taking advantage of a man believed to be a minor schizophrenic. There was even some heartbreaking pull quotes from a family member who lives nearby. The WSJ article was melodramatic and overtly judgmental, but the guys took it with a grain of salt.

"People don't understand, Jermien chooses to live like he does. He embraces street life. He's family. We're his inner circle. We take care of him any way we can. He owns part of the company, but a lot of times he doesn't want cash, so we get him roller skates, clothes, food," Hirsch explains, adding The Crazy Robertson will sponsor a fundraiser for the homeless in the spring. "Besides, ask him if he has a problem with it. He loves it."

"We just thought the idea to make this fascinating character an icon, especially in a place like Beverly Hills, was cool. So we started making stickers, started a website," adds Ackerman, the chief art designer of the group. "That's what led to Jermien on T-shirts, and our friends started buying them all. They wore them out like foot soldiers. It took off from there."

The image of The Crazy Robertson in dynamic, disco, sometimes super-heroic poses is more modern pop art than fashionista couture, but LA fashion forward boutiques are creaming over the label. It did well by getting hooked up at Kitson, a prestigious Lohan/Hilton/celeb-cloning staple that takes in only the hottest new designers. These days you can get TCR items at several other places across the country.

One particularly popular design nails the intrinsic irony of the label-that a group of youths in Beverly Hills are making an icon out of an Ober-eccentric homeless man. It's a Warholian arrangement of neon-colored The Crazy Robertson figures on either side of an evermore appropriate motto: "No Money, No Problems." The T-shirt is available for about $40 (and up), but you get the picture, thecrazyrobertson.com

Monday, March 17, 2008

Tariq Nasheed is a New York Times best selling author of The Art of Mackin'. Tariq, also known as King Flex, is a self proclaimed expert on dating and relationships. But his greatest attribute is that he is a fan of The Crazy Robertson. Check out the video of Tariq Nasheed with Peanut visiting John Jermien. John happens to be wearing the No Money No Problems T-Shirt which he cut the sleeves off. He is a trendsetter!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

We are bombarded with ads every day. For a promotion to make its mark and to stand out, it has to be different.

Last month for Valentine's Day, The Crazy Robertson sent out a letter with a dripping pink stencil and all it said was: The Crazy Robertson Loves You! Under it had a special website address. That's it and nothing more. The ad surely made me curious and I am sure many recipients of the letter visited the website.

Honda is doing something really clever as well to promote its lawn and garden vehicles. The promotional letter grows into flowers.

The letter is printed on a specially made paper that contains seeds. All you have to do is plant the letter. It is a truly genius and memorable promotional piece. It was developed by the UK agency Inferno.

Monday, March 10, 2008

I always wanted to get next to the Hollywood Sign ever since I saw Seen in the book Spraycan Artpaint on it.After some research and a few different tries, we were lucky to find a trail that leads to the Hollywood Sign. It is a fairly strenuous hike, but it is all worth it at the end. It was amazing to stand next to the sign that I have been looking at thousands of times from afar.

The sign is still far, but we are getting closer to it.Restricted Entry - When you get close to the Hollywood Sign, you are greeted by this sign.

If you are brave and must see the Hollywood Sign. You have to get behind the gate.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

I get a lot of positive feedback on the Graffhead.com logo. I also have been asked many times what the individual pieces that make up the logo are. Here they are.

Face by Rygar CBS. I took this picture on Melrose in the summer of 2003.

The Crazy Robertson LettersThis is me in action drawing The Crazy Robertson letters in my sketch book. I am in the middle of doing fill ins.

Sketchbook with StickersThis is the cover of my sketchbook. There a couple of Downset stickers. There also a couple of Obey Giant stickers. There is a Sote stormtropper sticker on the spine. Above it is a sticker designed by Shepard Fairey for While You Were Sleeping magazine. You can also see the edge of a Third Rail sticker. Also, there is a Dave Kinsey Rethink sticker at the bottom.Anti Graffiti Street SignAnti Graffiti Street sign showing Penal Code 594.

The Capital SGraffiti style lettering with a red S. Straight from my sketchbook. Drawn in 2003.

The Future's in Our CansTrade Mark T-shirt design by Axis CBS from 1993.

Graff Head Logo LettersGraff Head letters using the 28 days later font.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Graffiti.org, as I like to call it, is the first online graffiti website. It began in 1994. I think I became aware of it a few years later. Over the years it has featured graffiti paintings from over 445 cities from all over the world. The site is basically a graffiti world archival from around the world. It is always a special treat to see what people paint in other cities and countries.

The great thing about the site is that the first of every month, there is new graffiti content. You do not have to look fare it's right on the homepage. You can always go back and look at previous months. I make it a habit to visit the site on the 1st of each month.